The house that is! I feel like I am always cooped up. Why? What is it? Well, its actually a combination of things. One, I don't like to drag the kids out and about all the time. It's exhausting. Wears me out and makes me so anxious! If I could go out alone all the time it would be a much better experience for me. Two, I don't like crowds and I feel like everything here is so crowded all the time. I don't like it. Three, I really don't like people! I feel the older I am getting the more grumpy and irritable I'm getting out in public. People piss me off. They stop in the middle of the mall while you are walking right behind them, they keep their cart in the middle of the aisle so no one can go around them, they don't know how to drive, they just suck! Fourth, (wow, I have a lot of excuses don't I?? haha) I'm just too lazy to get dressed and do my hair all the time. I hate it! I prefer to be in sweats and a tshirt or tank top. The minute I walk back in the door I immediately change my clothes into my sweats. It's just who I am. Looking nice all the time isn't my cup of tea! I prefer comfort.
Anyway!
I am working on over coming this and have made it a point to every day this week get out of the house and do something. I need to stop being lazy! I think Brandon gets cabin fever too and its nice to get out and explore more. I have a list of things I want to do and places I want to see. We only have two more years left here and its going to go by very quickly like the first year did! I want to take advantage of our time here! I don't want to leave Hawaii with regrets.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
What is the World Coming To?
Well, everyone seems to be talking about the Sandy Hook Elementary school tragedy. It was truly heartbreaking. It hit close to home for me having a school aged child and also having a nephew who is in first grade and turned 7 in October and having so many of my family members who are teachers, plus many of my friends have kids that same age. It was horrific. As a parent our worst fears is that something will happen to our children, but to have something like what happened last Friday happen is unimaginable. It's gut-wrenching. The next day I sort of went into a depression state. Saturday I could barely get out of bed, I napped off and on all day and just had crying spells. It has gotten better though, and my heart breaks for all of those families who will have a bleak Christmas this year. I say a prayer every night for those poor children and adults whose lives were sensesessly taken. Seeing everyone come together afterwards though makes me realize the good in the world really does outweigh the bad. I have to remember that!
With this comes all this talk about gun control. I really don't have that big of an opinion on it, but I do think that assault rifles should be banned from being sold to the general public. They should only be available to those in the military, police force, and secret service...people of that nature. We can't control guns. It's our right to bear arms and I truly feel that that is important as a citizen. One of my friends Sarah summed up what I think best and I will quote her here:
"I don't feel like people should be able to own a military-grade weapon. Its sole purpose is to kill as many people as possible in as little amount of time as possible. It doesn't discriminate between innocent children and menacing adults, in cross-fire or directly. I understand that a gun doesn't discharge on its own. I'm not ignorant. There must be a finger on the trigger. But sometimes, the finger on the trigger is not the law-abiding citizen's who passed that background check and bought it at Wal-Mart. Sometimes it is the extremely mentally ill child's finger on the trigger who just killed his law-abiding mother. Or maybe it's the burglar that robbed your house and hit the jackpot when he saw your AR-15. So, good intentions aside, you just armed a criminal.
I don't have the answers. These horrible situations have been going through my head since the shooting in Tuscon. They come up louder and stronger with every innocent life taken. Something has to change and I don't believe that the answer is or will ever be to arm our teachers.
The idea of bringing in veterans to be guards at the schools has been floating around. That's a noble idea, but there are still a lot of factors that would have to be addressed: PTSD, TBI, honorable/dishonorable discharge and the circumstances for both, background checks, and pretty rigorous mental screening. There are more things that would have to be looked at, and I'll get back to you, but it's early.
As for gun shows, there have to be background checks at every single one. The fact that people can walk in to a gun show and walk out with a gun, law-abiding citizen or felon, is not okay. I have no problem with a law-abiding citizen having a gun. By all means, carry on.
Gun safes have to be in any home with a gun. Even gun-educated children get antsy and accidents happen. Lock them up.
Our second amendment calls for a well-regulated militia. I don't want your guns. And no one is going to come take your guns. If you bought a gun when it was legal to do so, you own that gun. It is yours. No one can take it. These new laws being proposed would make the process longer to buy one. I can find no flaw in that. Again, no one is coming to take our guns. Please repeat that over and over in your head. It is true. They cannot take what we legally purchased. They have no intentions of even trying. Why would they? We're armed."
To that I will add that not even the military is exempt from "going crazy" and shooting people. Take the Fort Hood incident where an army psychiatrist, one who is supposed to help people with their mental issues, is an actual M.D. (unlike a psychologist who has a Ph.D., people tend to get them confused and there is a huge difference), went bat-shit crazy and shot up an army post.
The only thing we can learn from this is to watch for warning signs. As a psychology student this is all repeated to us over and over and over. What is it about mental health? Why do so many people not seek the help they need? Why are mental issues overlooked so often? What can we do to change this? As an aspiring psychologist who's ultimate dream is to earn my Ph.D. in school psychology (big dreams right there!) I hope to work towards finding answers and solutions to these burning questions. As a parent, it is up to us to guide our children and to get them the help they need before its too late. Don't ignore the warning signs! It could save your child's life!
With this comes all this talk about gun control. I really don't have that big of an opinion on it, but I do think that assault rifles should be banned from being sold to the general public. They should only be available to those in the military, police force, and secret service...people of that nature. We can't control guns. It's our right to bear arms and I truly feel that that is important as a citizen. One of my friends Sarah summed up what I think best and I will quote her here:
"I don't feel like people should be able to own a military-grade weapon. Its sole purpose is to kill as many people as possible in as little amount of time as possible. It doesn't discriminate between innocent children and menacing adults, in cross-fire or directly. I understand that a gun doesn't discharge on its own. I'm not ignorant. There must be a finger on the trigger. But sometimes, the finger on the trigger is not the law-abiding citizen's who passed that background check and bought it at Wal-Mart. Sometimes it is the extremely mentally ill child's finger on the trigger who just killed his law-abiding mother. Or maybe it's the burglar that robbed your house and hit the jackpot when he saw your AR-15. So, good intentions aside, you just armed a criminal.
I don't have the answers. These horrible situations have been going through my head since the shooting in Tuscon. They come up louder and stronger with every innocent life taken. Something has to change and I don't believe that the answer is or will ever be to arm our teachers.
The idea of bringing in veterans to be guards at the schools has been floating around. That's a noble idea, but there are still a lot of factors that would have to be addressed: PTSD, TBI, honorable/dishonorable discharge and the circumstances for both, background checks, and pretty rigorous mental screening. There are more things that would have to be looked at, and I'll get back to you, but it's early.
As for gun shows, there have to be background checks at every single one. The fact that people can walk in to a gun show and walk out with a gun, law-abiding citizen or felon, is not okay. I have no problem with a law-abiding citizen having a gun. By all means, carry on.
Gun safes have to be in any home with a gun. Even gun-educated children get antsy and accidents happen. Lock them up.
Our second amendment calls for a well-regulated militia. I don't want your guns. And no one is going to come take your guns. If you bought a gun when it was legal to do so, you own that gun. It is yours. No one can take it. These new laws being proposed would make the process longer to buy one. I can find no flaw in that. Again, no one is coming to take our guns. Please repeat that over and over in your head. It is true. They cannot take what we legally purchased. They have no intentions of even trying. Why would they? We're armed."
To that I will add that not even the military is exempt from "going crazy" and shooting people. Take the Fort Hood incident where an army psychiatrist, one who is supposed to help people with their mental issues, is an actual M.D. (unlike a psychologist who has a Ph.D., people tend to get them confused and there is a huge difference), went bat-shit crazy and shot up an army post.
The only thing we can learn from this is to watch for warning signs. As a psychology student this is all repeated to us over and over and over. What is it about mental health? Why do so many people not seek the help they need? Why are mental issues overlooked so often? What can we do to change this? As an aspiring psychologist who's ultimate dream is to earn my Ph.D. in school psychology (big dreams right there!) I hope to work towards finding answers and solutions to these burning questions. As a parent, it is up to us to guide our children and to get them the help they need before its too late. Don't ignore the warning signs! It could save your child's life!
Saturday, December 1, 2012
TEN!
My beautiful baby girl is turning ten tomorrow! I seriously can't believe that. It seems like just yesterday she was a little baby. Tomorrow, December 2nd, I will have a double digit kid! She's not a baby anymore, she's turning into a young lady. A tween! aaagghhh! Makes me nervous thinking about that.
On this particular blog I am taking a trip down memory lane and am reflecting about my pregnancy and birth with Kaylie. I remember the night I found out I was pregnant. I had been with Curt for three years at this point. He had moved to Iowa to be with me and we had our tiny apartment together. I worked at Wal-mart as a customer service manager and he worked at Hardee's. We had never practiced safe sex in three years together. (This was a sign of our fertility problems to come I guess!) I don't know what made me buy a pregnancy test that evening, but I did. I got off of work and wandered over to the pharmacy section and bought a pregancy test. I got home from work and since Curt was closing that night I knew he wouldn't be home until 11pm or so. I decided to call my best friend Liz while I took the test, just for company! When it came back positive I couldn't believe it. I had no idea what we were going to do. We were poor! Curt was still in high school getting ready to graduate in just a few months. I was full of butterflies! I was so nervous. I sat down on our stairs that led up to our living room and didn't move until Curt got home. He walked in and took one look at me and knew something was wrong. I finally told him that I was pregnant. He immediately sat down and said "what??? How did this happen??" (Well....hahahaha).
I suffered from horrible morning sickness. So bad at one point I couldn't even eat. I lost nine pounds in my first trimester. It was awful. At one point I had to be hospitalized and given IV fluids and shot of medicine up my rear since I couldn't take anything oral and keep it down. It was hell. Ugh, I get flashbacks just thinking about that...and I shudder in horror! We decided we would let Kaylie be a surprise at birth, so that was exciting. I held true to that too for the whole nine months! :)
I knew that she was a girl immediately though. Just like with Brandon. I just knew. Even bought the boy stuff at 4 weeks pregnant! lol
Anyway...
Soon after he decided to join the army. I came home from work one afternoon and there was a recruiter in our apartment. I was nervous about that, but that summer he left for basic training. I was just about 3 1/2 months pregnant when he left for Fort Knox, KY. I was so sad and cried every night. It was tough being alone and pregnant while my boyfriend was off learning how to be a soldier. I wrote him a letter every single day for four month while he was gone. We decided we would get married while he was in basic. His training was called OSUT (One Station Unit Training) so his basic portion and AIT (advanced individual training) were all combined. He thought it would be best if we got married before he finished training so I would be guaranteed to go with him to his first duty station. So me and my stepdad drove to Fort Knox the weekend of September 13th and we got married. I was six months pregnant with Kaylie!
He was done with training on Halloween and got back home a few days later. I was eight months pregnant now and feeling it. He was home for a few weeks for hometown recruiting then he left right after my birthday for Fort Benning, GA. The plan was for me to fly down after he got us a house. I was due with Kaylie on December 27th. The doctor cleared me to fly so I bought my ticket for December 5th.
Well...apparently Kaylie had other plans and I woke up the night of December 1st (ten years ago tonight) feeling like I had to poop. All night I would get up having those feelings, but nothing ever came of it. That day (it was a Monday) I decided to clean the house and get ready for the movers who were scheduled to come on the 3rd. I vacuumed, cleaned, and scrubbed all day. And all day I was having braxton hicks (or so I thought). Around 4 that evening I decided it was time to head over to my moms to do laundry and wash the baby clothes I had. By the time I got to her house and started laundry my pains were getting worse.
I finally called my mom at work and told her I was having pains all day and they were getting worse. She said "honey, I think you're in labor." She rushed home and took me up to the hospital. The nurse asked when I was due and I said the 27th. They took me back to check me and told me I was 4 cm. I immediately burst into tears. Curt was going to miss the birth! This couldn't happen!!! I was devastated. We tried and tried to get ahold of him down in GA to no avail. Finally Mario, my step-dad, got a hold of him to tell him I was giving birth.
I didn't get an epidural until late. I was 8 cm when I got it. I was finally 10 cm and started pushing for awhile. Nothing was happening and they finally had to get another doctor in the room and they had to use forceps to help get her out. In the room with me were my mom, stepdad, my aunt, and my grandma. My grandma was hilarious. She gave birth to nine kids and to see it from that different vantage point for her was amazing! She just kept saying "oh dacia, oh dacia", and clapping her hands together. My aunt videotaped it as well.
As soon as that doctor cam in with the forceps Mario said, "you are NOT sticking those in my baby girl" hahaha. A few contractions later Kaylie Jeanne was born at 9:26 P.M. weighing 6lbs 1oz.
I was 36 weeks and 6 days pregnant. Curt finally called and I got to tell him we had a baby girl!!
It was nice too, because I was the ONLY one in L&D for my two day stay. I got the royal treatment from the nurses since they were bored a lot.
Curt flew up the next day on emergency leave and was there for the movers while I stayed at my moms with Kaylie. Then he went back to GA to finish getting things ready for us to move down there. He came and got us at Christmas and we drove down to GA right after the New Year. It sucked too, because he left for Kuwait for the build-up to the invasion just two weeks after we arrived. I was left in GA with a newborn and in a strange city. I was miserable and scared. I was so far out of my comfort zone.
I ended up driving back up to Illinois the next week. Which turned out to be a blessing, because I had emergency gallbladder surgery at the end of January!
Anyway, my Kaylie-booger has grown up so much in ten years. She will always be my baby girl no matter how old she is!! She is growing into such a young lady and I see myself so much in her. She is awkward, quiet, shy, and timid, just like I was at her age. She loves to read, loves to help out around the house (if only I could get her to keep her room clean) and is so smart! I can't wait to see what her life is like in ten more years!! I love you Kaylie Jeanne and Happy Birthday!!!!
P.S. I still have my plane ticket for my flight. It's in her baby book. :)
On this particular blog I am taking a trip down memory lane and am reflecting about my pregnancy and birth with Kaylie. I remember the night I found out I was pregnant. I had been with Curt for three years at this point. He had moved to Iowa to be with me and we had our tiny apartment together. I worked at Wal-mart as a customer service manager and he worked at Hardee's. We had never practiced safe sex in three years together. (This was a sign of our fertility problems to come I guess!) I don't know what made me buy a pregnancy test that evening, but I did. I got off of work and wandered over to the pharmacy section and bought a pregancy test. I got home from work and since Curt was closing that night I knew he wouldn't be home until 11pm or so. I decided to call my best friend Liz while I took the test, just for company! When it came back positive I couldn't believe it. I had no idea what we were going to do. We were poor! Curt was still in high school getting ready to graduate in just a few months. I was full of butterflies! I was so nervous. I sat down on our stairs that led up to our living room and didn't move until Curt got home. He walked in and took one look at me and knew something was wrong. I finally told him that I was pregnant. He immediately sat down and said "what??? How did this happen??" (Well....hahahaha).
I suffered from horrible morning sickness. So bad at one point I couldn't even eat. I lost nine pounds in my first trimester. It was awful. At one point I had to be hospitalized and given IV fluids and shot of medicine up my rear since I couldn't take anything oral and keep it down. It was hell. Ugh, I get flashbacks just thinking about that...and I shudder in horror! We decided we would let Kaylie be a surprise at birth, so that was exciting. I held true to that too for the whole nine months! :)
I knew that she was a girl immediately though. Just like with Brandon. I just knew. Even bought the boy stuff at 4 weeks pregnant! lol
Anyway...
Soon after he decided to join the army. I came home from work one afternoon and there was a recruiter in our apartment. I was nervous about that, but that summer he left for basic training. I was just about 3 1/2 months pregnant when he left for Fort Knox, KY. I was so sad and cried every night. It was tough being alone and pregnant while my boyfriend was off learning how to be a soldier. I wrote him a letter every single day for four month while he was gone. We decided we would get married while he was in basic. His training was called OSUT (One Station Unit Training) so his basic portion and AIT (advanced individual training) were all combined. He thought it would be best if we got married before he finished training so I would be guaranteed to go with him to his first duty station. So me and my stepdad drove to Fort Knox the weekend of September 13th and we got married. I was six months pregnant with Kaylie!
He was done with training on Halloween and got back home a few days later. I was eight months pregnant now and feeling it. He was home for a few weeks for hometown recruiting then he left right after my birthday for Fort Benning, GA. The plan was for me to fly down after he got us a house. I was due with Kaylie on December 27th. The doctor cleared me to fly so I bought my ticket for December 5th.
Well...apparently Kaylie had other plans and I woke up the night of December 1st (ten years ago tonight) feeling like I had to poop. All night I would get up having those feelings, but nothing ever came of it. That day (it was a Monday) I decided to clean the house and get ready for the movers who were scheduled to come on the 3rd. I vacuumed, cleaned, and scrubbed all day. And all day I was having braxton hicks (or so I thought). Around 4 that evening I decided it was time to head over to my moms to do laundry and wash the baby clothes I had. By the time I got to her house and started laundry my pains were getting worse.
I finally called my mom at work and told her I was having pains all day and they were getting worse. She said "honey, I think you're in labor." She rushed home and took me up to the hospital. The nurse asked when I was due and I said the 27th. They took me back to check me and told me I was 4 cm. I immediately burst into tears. Curt was going to miss the birth! This couldn't happen!!! I was devastated. We tried and tried to get ahold of him down in GA to no avail. Finally Mario, my step-dad, got a hold of him to tell him I was giving birth.
I didn't get an epidural until late. I was 8 cm when I got it. I was finally 10 cm and started pushing for awhile. Nothing was happening and they finally had to get another doctor in the room and they had to use forceps to help get her out. In the room with me were my mom, stepdad, my aunt, and my grandma. My grandma was hilarious. She gave birth to nine kids and to see it from that different vantage point for her was amazing! She just kept saying "oh dacia, oh dacia", and clapping her hands together. My aunt videotaped it as well.
As soon as that doctor cam in with the forceps Mario said, "you are NOT sticking those in my baby girl" hahaha. A few contractions later Kaylie Jeanne was born at 9:26 P.M. weighing 6lbs 1oz.
I was 36 weeks and 6 days pregnant. Curt finally called and I got to tell him we had a baby girl!!
It was nice too, because I was the ONLY one in L&D for my two day stay. I got the royal treatment from the nurses since they were bored a lot.
Curt flew up the next day on emergency leave and was there for the movers while I stayed at my moms with Kaylie. Then he went back to GA to finish getting things ready for us to move down there. He came and got us at Christmas and we drove down to GA right after the New Year. It sucked too, because he left for Kuwait for the build-up to the invasion just two weeks after we arrived. I was left in GA with a newborn and in a strange city. I was miserable and scared. I was so far out of my comfort zone.
I ended up driving back up to Illinois the next week. Which turned out to be a blessing, because I had emergency gallbladder surgery at the end of January!
Anyway, my Kaylie-booger has grown up so much in ten years. She will always be my baby girl no matter how old she is!! She is growing into such a young lady and I see myself so much in her. She is awkward, quiet, shy, and timid, just like I was at her age. She loves to read, loves to help out around the house (if only I could get her to keep her room clean) and is so smart! I can't wait to see what her life is like in ten more years!! I love you Kaylie Jeanne and Happy Birthday!!!!
P.S. I still have my plane ticket for my flight. It's in her baby book. :)
Monday, November 26, 2012
Birthdays!
I feel like I haven't blogged in forever. But honestly, my life is pretty boring. I'm on a week break from school and my next two classes start on the 3rd. They are Biopsychology and Human Sexuality. Really looking forward to that one! haha Slowly chipping away at my classes. I can't wait to get that diploma in the mail. :)
Tomorrow is my birthday. I'm going to be 32. Yup, 32. I'm old. I don't like it. Aging sucks. I would love to be in my 20s again. I loved my 20s. I had the best time in that decade. I got married, had two babies, moved away from home for the first time to GA, made fabulous friends, moved again to DC, and since then it has all started to get boring! My 20s were so fun, my 30s are not as fun. haha
Its funny how we change over time. I mean, we are always the same person underneath it all, but its funny to watch time change us, change priorities, change goals, change the way we feel, etc
Kaylie's birthday is the 2nd. My baby girl is turning the big 1-0. Double digits. I can't believe I have a child that old!! It's shocking! Nothing big going on for that. We are having a small party at our house for her with some of our friends and hers. Low key.
Christmas is just a few weeks away and I really need to start shopping! One of these weekends I guess I'll leave the kids with Curt and go shop. I have no idea what I am getting them anyway, so I def need to browse.
Anywhoo...short and sweet. I lead a boring life!
Tomorrow is my birthday. I'm going to be 32. Yup, 32. I'm old. I don't like it. Aging sucks. I would love to be in my 20s again. I loved my 20s. I had the best time in that decade. I got married, had two babies, moved away from home for the first time to GA, made fabulous friends, moved again to DC, and since then it has all started to get boring! My 20s were so fun, my 30s are not as fun. haha
Its funny how we change over time. I mean, we are always the same person underneath it all, but its funny to watch time change us, change priorities, change goals, change the way we feel, etc
Kaylie's birthday is the 2nd. My baby girl is turning the big 1-0. Double digits. I can't believe I have a child that old!! It's shocking! Nothing big going on for that. We are having a small party at our house for her with some of our friends and hers. Low key.
Christmas is just a few weeks away and I really need to start shopping! One of these weekends I guess I'll leave the kids with Curt and go shop. I have no idea what I am getting them anyway, so I def need to browse.
Anywhoo...short and sweet. I lead a boring life!
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
In a Frenzy!
In a house buying frenzy that is! For the past few weeks I have been addicted to HGTV. Bad news! It makes me crazy to hurry up and get back to the mainland so we can buy a house!!!! Seriously, I feel a yearning in my soul for this. I am so beyond ready to buy a house and put roots down. I love the military lifestyle, but I have never much enjoyed moving around. I am happy that we have gotten to see the places we have. Places, like here, I would have NEVER saw otherwise. So for that I am grateful.
I look at houses for sale daily. Seriously, it gets a bit ridiculous. I usually look in the same spots. I look back hom in IL (Antioch, Lake Villa, Lindenhurst areas) and I look at the DC area, and of course in Columbus. I am pretty certain we will be going to one of those three areas after our time here is up. Home to IL for recruiting, back to DC because Curt has mentioned working at the WTC (warrior transition command) or to Benning for either an instructor position, or something like that. So I am constantly scanning all the real estate websites for houses and adding the houses I love to my favorites. Seriously, I may need an intervention!
I love Hawaii, but I know its not home.As beautiful as it is here... It doesn't feel like home, look like home, or have many opportunities. I feel like we can't start our lives until we get back to the mainland, which is true in so many ways. I can't start graduate school, I can't start working, we can't buy a house, we can't do nothing while we are here but continue to save as much money as we can to reach our ultimate goals!
With the holidays here now I must admit, I am really missing the colder weather. It just doesn't feel like the holidays when its 80 degrees outside. I feel like the spirit is missing. So that sucks! Don't get me wrong I enjoy the warm weather, but during the holiday season its "supposed" to feel like the holiday season, not like this. So, for me, it takes away the spirit of the season! I'm having a hard time getting into the Christmas mood when it doesn't feel like that time of year.
I guess taking the changing of the seasons for granted has caught up to me! I miss it. :)
I look at houses for sale daily. Seriously, it gets a bit ridiculous. I usually look in the same spots. I look back hom in IL (Antioch, Lake Villa, Lindenhurst areas) and I look at the DC area, and of course in Columbus. I am pretty certain we will be going to one of those three areas after our time here is up. Home to IL for recruiting, back to DC because Curt has mentioned working at the WTC (warrior transition command) or to Benning for either an instructor position, or something like that. So I am constantly scanning all the real estate websites for houses and adding the houses I love to my favorites. Seriously, I may need an intervention!
I love Hawaii, but I know its not home.As beautiful as it is here... It doesn't feel like home, look like home, or have many opportunities. I feel like we can't start our lives until we get back to the mainland, which is true in so many ways. I can't start graduate school, I can't start working, we can't buy a house, we can't do nothing while we are here but continue to save as much money as we can to reach our ultimate goals!
With the holidays here now I must admit, I am really missing the colder weather. It just doesn't feel like the holidays when its 80 degrees outside. I feel like the spirit is missing. So that sucks! Don't get me wrong I enjoy the warm weather, but during the holiday season its "supposed" to feel like the holiday season, not like this. So, for me, it takes away the spirit of the season! I'm having a hard time getting into the Christmas mood when it doesn't feel like that time of year.
I guess taking the changing of the seasons for granted has caught up to me! I miss it. :)
Friday, November 9, 2012
Bored!
It's funny how some things come with age. When I was in junior high and high school I loved to write. I would write all the time. I have always been complimented on my writing skills, in high school and even now in college. I get bored writing though. At times I see no point in writing down my thoughts and feelings anymore because it gets boring writing. My thoughts go more quickly than my fingers! I have gotten A's on every single paper I have written for college. When I am passionate about a topic I could write about it all day. I struggle writing about topics I have no interest in though. Like this coming week I have a ten page paper for my research methods class. B-O-R-I-N-G!! I don't wanna do it! My other paper I have to write this week is about the life and contributions to psychology of a not-so-well-known psychologist. I have chosen to write about Alfred Adler. Easy peasy.
My point in writing all this is sometimes I wish, in just every day affairs, I would write my eloquently like I do my papers. My normal writing is always jumbled and full of different thoughts. I have always wanted to write a book and still toss it around. I know I have strong writing skills and at one point even thought of majoring in English! (long time ago). I know this runs in the family because my sister is also a great writer and my brother is a fantastic writer who has already written short stories. His professors at college have even asked him if he ever thought of majoring in English. Writing can be freeing, yet at the same time, it can be hard. It takes sorting out thoughts and writing about them in ways that make sense to the reader.
Kaylie is also becoming a little writer. She always has a notebook and is drawing pictures and writing little stories. I love that my whole family shares this in common! I also love that when my sister is writing a speech for Girl Scouts, or my brother is writing a story and wants it critiqued, or I am writing a paper and want an opinion we call each other and are able to help each other omit or rearrange words to make what we are trying to say even better.
It's funny on facebook because I tend to get bored writing and will want to write this big long opinion or something on someone's post but after I do I erase it all and end up writing something extremely short. haha I don't know what it is about social networking that bores me with writing. Writing can also be therapeutic. Almost like Freud's free association. Where I can write whatever it is I'm thinking and not have to have anyone comment back or judge me. Writing is a stress reliever. I have a personal journal I write in that no one ever sees. I used to be big into journaling and would write every single day in it, but over the last few years I have slowly started doing it less in less.
Anywhoo, I was just thinking about this topic over the past few hours because someone posted something on facebook and I wanted to comment, but then got bored and decided not to. Sad in a way. I'm not much of a debater, I hate debating because no one is going to change their mind when they are set in their views. It's like talking to a brick wall and wasting time. So I rarely get involved anymore in that stuff, especially when people are passionate and especially when they are ignorant on a subject and make themselves look stupid with the stuff they post. ;)
Anyway, I wanted to post what I wrote to my niece back in August. My niece is just now 18 and is off enjoying her first year at college. After being there for only two days she was wanting to run home and drop out. Of course, that angered all of us, her family, because we know how smart and capable she is and how much she wanted this. I will end this blog with my speech to her. It's just a small taste of my awesome writing. ;)
To my niece:
My point in writing all this is sometimes I wish, in just every day affairs, I would write my eloquently like I do my papers. My normal writing is always jumbled and full of different thoughts. I have always wanted to write a book and still toss it around. I know I have strong writing skills and at one point even thought of majoring in English! (long time ago). I know this runs in the family because my sister is also a great writer and my brother is a fantastic writer who has already written short stories. His professors at college have even asked him if he ever thought of majoring in English. Writing can be freeing, yet at the same time, it can be hard. It takes sorting out thoughts and writing about them in ways that make sense to the reader.
Kaylie is also becoming a little writer. She always has a notebook and is drawing pictures and writing little stories. I love that my whole family shares this in common! I also love that when my sister is writing a speech for Girl Scouts, or my brother is writing a story and wants it critiqued, or I am writing a paper and want an opinion we call each other and are able to help each other omit or rearrange words to make what we are trying to say even better.
It's funny on facebook because I tend to get bored writing and will want to write this big long opinion or something on someone's post but after I do I erase it all and end up writing something extremely short. haha I don't know what it is about social networking that bores me with writing. Writing can also be therapeutic. Almost like Freud's free association. Where I can write whatever it is I'm thinking and not have to have anyone comment back or judge me. Writing is a stress reliever. I have a personal journal I write in that no one ever sees. I used to be big into journaling and would write every single day in it, but over the last few years I have slowly started doing it less in less.
Anywhoo, I was just thinking about this topic over the past few hours because someone posted something on facebook and I wanted to comment, but then got bored and decided not to. Sad in a way. I'm not much of a debater, I hate debating because no one is going to change their mind when they are set in their views. It's like talking to a brick wall and wasting time. So I rarely get involved anymore in that stuff, especially when people are passionate and especially when they are ignorant on a subject and make themselves look stupid with the stuff they post. ;)
Anyway, I wanted to post what I wrote to my niece back in August. My niece is just now 18 and is off enjoying her first year at college. After being there for only two days she was wanting to run home and drop out. Of course, that angered all of us, her family, because we know how smart and capable she is and how much she wanted this. I will end this blog with my speech to her. It's just a small taste of my awesome writing. ;)
To my niece:
College is one of the first stepping stones into adulthood. To leave
home and be out of your comfort zone is scary and different for everyone
who goes through it. It is an adjustment period. It will take some
time, but by Christmas you will start to feel, or already feel,
comfortable. Starting out in a new place is always hard. We have to make
new friends, find our way around town, and try and find our niche in
the place we are (for me this relates to military life and how hard it
is to move and start all over every 3 years or so). It is exciting, yet
terrifying all at the same time. My first time moving away from home I
went 16 hours away to Georgia with a 3 week old infant and Curt deployed
two weeks after. I was left all alone in a strange state with a baby. I
cried every day and just wanted to go home. I pushed through it though
and decided I was going to beat these feeling of defeat. Because of that
choice I am very independent and I never rely on a man, or anyone, to
do anything in my life. As I wish for the same for you. Don’t EVER make a
decision based on a man. He’s not guaranteed to be there next year, or
even next month, or really even tomorrow. Boys come and go, friends come
and go, but your LIFE is YOUR life. Always do YOU first.
My
point is this. It’s hard. No one said it wasn’t going to be a struggle.
You have to do this though. You made a choice, you decided you wanted to
go to Dubuque, you decided you wanted to be a nurse. Now do it!! You
are wanting to give up way to easy and way too quickly. No, you don’t
have to prove everyone wrong about you, you don’t have to give a crap
what any of us say to you, but I know deep down inside of yourself you
know that leaving is a bad choice. You know it’s not what you want. You
didn’t work this hard in your life and overcome all that you have to
give up after two days at college. Really, Alysia. I know you expect
more from yourself than this, just like we all do. We all love you and
we all want you to be successful. People always get mad and upset and
don’t want to hear the truth. Sometimes though I think we need to hear
the truth. It’s what breaks us down and pisses us off and builds us back
up to be a better person in the end. No one is responsible for this
but you. It’s time to really put on some big girl panties and fight back
against these feelings of doubt. Why in the hell are you going to just
throw all this hard work away before you have even really began??? I
know you are fighter. I know you want this. I know you want better than
your parents have. I know you want to give yourself a good life with a
fabulous career. Going back to Zion, and going to CLC, will not
accomplish that. You know that. It will end with you being disappointed
in yourself and kicking yourself in the ass for giving up so easily!!
To be anything in life you have to fight for it. It’s not easy. It’s
hard. But the rewards of walking across that stage in four years with a
Bachelor’s degree in nursing will make it all worth it.
Now I
am going to say some things you probably won’t like, but again, this
goes back to hearing the truth that I talked about. Let it piss you off
then build you back up! There comes a time in life when we have to
learn to take responsibility for our own actions and stop pointing
fingers and blaming everyone around us but ourselves. We all have done
it, we all still do it sometimes when we don’t want to take ownership
for our own bad choices. Why are you stressed about money? You had a
graduation party and got a lot of money. You didn’t work all summer so
therefore did not have an income. That is nobody’s fault but your own.
You chose not to work, so therefore, again, your lack of money is your
fault. Now you are at college and have a meal plan so that you can eat.
Also, every college kid is hungry. They all live on ramen noodles and
PB&J’s. Ask any kid who went or is going to college. It’s like the
national college meal plan. At times you are very mature, but also at
times you are immature. I get it. You are only 18. I hope a year from
now, four years from now, and even ten years from now you can look back
at this and say to yourself “I can’t believe how dumb I was.” Because,
let’s face it, the truth of the matter is… it’s dumb and irrational to
want to drop out of college. Take what I have said and do what you want
with it. I don’t care what you do with it. Hate me, ignore me, delete
this, whatever. I will at least know I said my piece to you. But one
thing is for sure…. I do expect my niece to try her damnedest... to at
least freaking TRY. I love you.
Sincerely,
“Your sometimes everyone needs tough love” aunt Dacia!
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Flying by
Time sure is flying by! November is such a busy month. I feel that I don't have enough time to get everything done that I want to. I decided yesterday that for Kaylie's 10th birthday Dec 2nd that we would just have a small get together at our house for a BBQ and a bounce house for the kids. I wanted to throw her a birthday party at the bowling alley, but since she got in huge trouble last month for stealing we took that away from her.
Sigh...and I have no idea what to get her for her birthday, let alone Christmas for that matter. I'm thinking we will get her a cell phone for Christmas. Definitely not a smart phone, just a basic phone for her to use. Not that she goes anywhere, but if she does she can get ahold of Curt and I if need be. She's getting to that age that is hard to buy for!
School is going good. I have two more weeks of classes, then a week break before my next classes start. I have two papers to get done by next Monday so I'm stressing a bit about that. Otherwise, moving right along.
Curt is training hard for the Warrior Games in May. He will be gone a lot coming up soon and I'm not looking forward to that. But I'm proud of him for really getting into his archery stuff. I feel like its giving him something to enjoy since he can't play basketball anymore.
I'm really wanting to work on potty training with Brandon, but the boy flat out refuses to even try. He starts crying. I don't want to push him too hard because I know that's not good for them, but I do ask him every day if he wants to go potty like a big boy. Maybe this weekend I'll try and put him in big boy underwear again for a day and see how he does. Maybe when he actually pees in his underwear he will notice the difference. We'll see! It's just frustrating and I am so ready to be done with diapers!! I am excited that he will be four next year. FOUR. Already!!! I can't wait to see him playing T-ball. They start in Mililani at 4 so I made sure to bookmark the website for registration next year. Since Kaylie has no interest in sports, I can't wait to have Brandon do them and enjoy going to games! So exciting!
Being it's November its the month we are supposed to be thankful for different things in our lives. I'm so very thankful God blessed us with two beautiful, smart children.They amaze me everyday with their personalities and utter cuteness! Of course they are not so cute when they are acting up and being bad, but most of the time I can't get over how blessed we really are! I love seeing them grow up and becoming who they were meant to be. :)
Anywhoo, that's enough rambling for one blog!
Sigh...and I have no idea what to get her for her birthday, let alone Christmas for that matter. I'm thinking we will get her a cell phone for Christmas. Definitely not a smart phone, just a basic phone for her to use. Not that she goes anywhere, but if she does she can get ahold of Curt and I if need be. She's getting to that age that is hard to buy for!
School is going good. I have two more weeks of classes, then a week break before my next classes start. I have two papers to get done by next Monday so I'm stressing a bit about that. Otherwise, moving right along.
Curt is training hard for the Warrior Games in May. He will be gone a lot coming up soon and I'm not looking forward to that. But I'm proud of him for really getting into his archery stuff. I feel like its giving him something to enjoy since he can't play basketball anymore.
I'm really wanting to work on potty training with Brandon, but the boy flat out refuses to even try. He starts crying. I don't want to push him too hard because I know that's not good for them, but I do ask him every day if he wants to go potty like a big boy. Maybe this weekend I'll try and put him in big boy underwear again for a day and see how he does. Maybe when he actually pees in his underwear he will notice the difference. We'll see! It's just frustrating and I am so ready to be done with diapers!! I am excited that he will be four next year. FOUR. Already!!! I can't wait to see him playing T-ball. They start in Mililani at 4 so I made sure to bookmark the website for registration next year. Since Kaylie has no interest in sports, I can't wait to have Brandon do them and enjoy going to games! So exciting!
Being it's November its the month we are supposed to be thankful for different things in our lives. I'm so very thankful God blessed us with two beautiful, smart children.They amaze me everyday with their personalities and utter cuteness! Of course they are not so cute when they are acting up and being bad, but most of the time I can't get over how blessed we really are! I love seeing them grow up and becoming who they were meant to be. :)
Anywhoo, that's enough rambling for one blog!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)